E—No. 4,

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE

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5. The steam vessels to be from time to time employed in the performance of this contract shall be always fitted out, furnished and provided with every requisite for rendering them constantly efficient for the service in every particular, as first-class mail and passenger steam vessels. 6. One of the vessels to be employed under this contract shall leave San Francisco once in every twenty-eight days, and shall proceed thence to Port Chalmers, by way of and calling at Auckland, AVellington, and Lyttelton, in New Zealand ; and one of the said vessels shall leave Port Chalmers once in every twenty-eight days, and shall proceed to San Francisco, by way of and calling at Lyttelton, AVellington, and Auckland. 7. The said steam vessels may call at two intermediate places, and no more, between Auckland and San Francisco, and between San Francisco and Auckland, and such two places may be at any of the Hawaiian, Society or Navigator Islands, as the Contractors shall think fit and appoint; and such ports, after being appointed, may be altered from time to time by the Contractors with the consent of the Postmaster-General, but not otherwise. 8. The time (including stoppages) allowed for the voyage between San Francisco and Auckland, and Auckland and San Francisco, shall not exceed five hundred and seventy-six hours (twenty-four hours allowed for coaling at Honolulu) ; and the Contractors shall use all possible diligence and despatch to depart from Auckland, and thereafter to perform the voyage between Auckland and Port Chalmers within one hundred hours, including stoppages, and shall forfeit the sum of two pounds per hour for every hour's unnecessary delay. 9. The Contractors shall once in every twenty-eight days run a steamer in connection with the aforesaid steamers, between Auckland and Sydney, in the Colony of New South AVales, and between Sydney and Auckland ; and if required so to do by the Postmaster-General, the Contractors shall, or at their own option they may, run the said steamer from Sydney to Aielbourne, in the Colony of Arictoria, and from Aielbourne to Sydney and Auckland; but the Postmaster-General shall not require the said steamer to be run from Sydney to Melbourne, unless the Aletorian Government agree to pay a subsidy of twenty-five thousand pounds per annum, which sum shall be equally divided between the Government of New Zealand and the Contractors. 10. The vessel to be employed between Auckland and Sydney, or between Auckland, Sydney, and Aielbourne, as the case may be, as provided in the preceding clause, shall be in all respects equal to the vessels employed betw rcen San Francisco and Port Chalmers, and shall be approved of by the Postmaster-General; and the whole time, including stoppages allowed for the voyage each way between San Francisco and Sydney shall not exceed seven hundred and twenty hours ; and between Sydney and Aielbourne, each way, the whole time shall not exceed fifty-five hours. 11. For the service hereinbefore described, inclusive of the service between Auckland and Sydney, or between Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne, as the case may be, the Contractors shall be paid by the Government of New Zealand at the rate of fifty thousand pounds for thirteen complete services to and from Port Chalmers and San Francisco, and to and from Auckland and Sydney, or Auckland, Sydney, and Aielbourne, as the case may be; and all mails which the Postmaster-General shall require to be carried by the Contractors during the continuance of the contract shall be carried free of cost. 12. If during the first four months after the date fixed for the commencement of the contract service, the Contractors are unable to run a vessel from Auckland to Sydney, or from Auckland to Sydney and Melbourne, the payment to be made to the Contractors by the Government of New Zealand during that period shall be at the rate of forty thousand pounds for thirteen complete services, and not at the rate of fifty thousand pounds as hereinbefore provided; and the Contractors agree to start the said steamer not later than four months after the commencement of tho contract service. 13. During the first thirteen complete services between San Francisco and New Zealand, each way, the Contractors may cause the vessel arriving at Auckland from San Francisco to be run from Auckland to Sydney, or from Auckland to Sydney and Aielbourne, in which case the vessel mentioned in clause nine, instead of proceeding to Melbourne and Sydney shall proceed to Port Chalmers, after transhipping the mails onboard the vessel from San Francisco ; but in such case the vessel proceeding to Port Chalmers shall be the vessel to make the next succeeding voyage to San Francisco. 14. After the completion of the first thirteen services between San Francisco and New Zealand, each way, the Contractors may at their option, twice during each twelve months, run the vessel arriving at Auckland from San Francisco to Sydney, or to Sydney and to Melbourne, in the same way as is provided by the preceding clause ; but, save and except as is provided by the preceding clause and by this clause, the vessel arriving at Auckland from San Francisco shall proceed to Port Chalmers, and from Port Chalmers to San Francisco, as is provided by clause 6. 16. It shall be lawful for the Postmaster-General, but not for the Contractors, to make any arrangements he may think fit with any of the Australian Governments, and with the Government of New Caledonia; and all sums payable under such arrangements shall be equally divided between the Government of New Zealand and the Contractors. 16. The Contractors shall not, nor shall any person or persons with their consent or concurrence, run any steam vessel to New Caledonia, or to any of the Australian Colonies, except from a port in New Zealand ; and no mails whatever shall be carried on board any such steam vessel or branch steam vessel running from New Zealand, except with the consent of the Postmaster-General in writing first obtained. 17. The days and hours of departure for the vessels employed under this contract shall be those specified in a table to be furnished by the Postmaster-General: Provided that the Postmaster-General may from time to time alter such days and hours on giving reasonable notice to the Contractors of the required alteration, provided that no such alteration shall render necessary the employment of an additional steam vessel, except as is herein provided ; and the altered days and hours shall be observed and kept as if the same had been provided for in this contract, and the contractors shall pay the sum of two pounds per hour for every hour's delay in the departure of any vessel after the specified time. 18. Tho Postmaster-General shall pay to the Contractors the sum of two pounds per hour for every hour that any mail shall be ready for delivery in the Port of Auckland or San Francisco less than the eon-